Hello, สวัสดี (Sa wa dii), Hola

“Kerry, what are you doing on Saturday and Sunday?”

“Um … I’m not sure … maybe go to Nakhon Phanom?”

“Do you want to go to a waterfall?”

“Ok, sure, what day? What time?”

“Sunday … I think early morning.”

This is a typical conversation between Sumet and I over lunch either on a Tuesday or a Friday, when I am being invited somewhere. It is a mix of Thai and English and comes out something like this. By me agreeing to go to this “waterfall” I clearly have no idea where it is, what the name of it is, and who else is joining us on this excursion. Later in the day I ask if I will be swimming at said waterfall, so I will at least be prepared for being wet.

Sunday morning rolls around and I am up early, since I know how Thai people operate, I could be picked up 30 minutes in either directions of the mentioned time, which is this case was 8. At approximately 8:45 Sumet and Earm arrive in my driveway and I go to meet them eager to see what the day has is store for me. While waiting for another teacher (Han Yoat) I am informed that the waterfall they originally wanted to go to was dry, as it had not rained enough yet this season … IT HASN’T RAINED ENOUGH YET? I am confused at what “enough” is. Nonetheless this day shall prove to be more interesting than originally planned.

We drive towards a nearby town and stop at 7 Eleven for snacks, yay! And then head on our way to god knows where. First stop, a peace memorial in which the words translated for me were, “rebel”, “anti-government”, and “The queen built this.” Well, that sure tells a complete story!


We then get back in the car and arrive at the site of a "volcano", as I am told. It is "sleeping" ... so that's a good thing. It was actually a really cool thing to see, as there were about 4 places where I am guessing the volcano would erupt that were filled with water and subsequently lily pads and lotus flowers. Really neat looking. I also noticed that walking on the volcanic rock was hotter than over in the parking area. Quite peculiar.

The tiger dog that lead us around the volcano

a weird Thai bug . . .



Next stop, a frightening bridge that has been here for god knows how long. The concrete bridge next to it for the use of cars was only built about 7 years ago. What did this people do before that?! Although the bridge is concrete, metal, and wood, it still swayed was really quite terrifying … photo shoot!



The homies that drove onto the bridge and curiously stopped right where they could see the "farang"


And finally we arrived at the waterfall that is in fact quite dry and walked around there, climbing on rocks and such for some time … clearly a perfect opportunity for a photo shoot of Kerry! I was basically positioned exactly where there was flowing water and that is it.



Then we stopped somewhere for lunch, goy dtiow (noodle soup) and leo beer … how very Thai. After lunch and a small buzz from the beer we head out to what is actually a national park and a flowing, shallow river where we could "swim".








As you can see by the photographic evidence, I was told to stand or sit in a ridiculous number of places during a short amount of time for my picture to be taken ... typical Thailand!

Simply because I am awesome and teach at 2 schools in Thailand, I get 2 Wai Khru days ... as a fellow volunteer put it, "double the worship" hahaha These pictures are from my second and much larger Wai Khru day ceremony at Nong Hee

First we have to help the annuban (kindergarten) sit down in the right places


SO MANY STUDENT!!! (over 300 attend Choom Chon Nong Hee Samakee)


which means SO MANY SHOES


Because there are so many students this takes a long time ... so of course boredom sets in . . .


note the flowers in their mouths like cigarettes (this is 6th grade)


note the flowers resting on the girl's head like a crown


also the boy with the plastic bag on his head


Bow to meee (so strange!!!)


Students walking on their knees to give flowers to their teacher


Sumet gather flowers and respect from his students


Beautiful flower arrangements


So many flowers!!! how will I ever carry them all?!!?


I KNOW!

Today was the Wai Khru celebration/ceremony at Phon Tan. Wai Khru is essentially "Teacher Appreciation Day". The actually holiday is sometime in April, which is actually during summer break ... confusing I know. So each school chooses a day at the beginning of the school year to celebrate this with a ceremony. The ceremony is completely Thai in that there are many rituals each with many steps to complete. The students all make flower "kratongs" or small displays/bouquets to present to the teachers.

Just chillen with my flowers in my pocket ... NBD (no big deal)


Some girls with their flowers


The Paw-aw (Principle) and the teachers sit on the stage during the ceremony. Oh heyyy


One older student comes to the front to lead the other students in some kind of prayer or chant of sorts.


Students come up in groups to bow to the Buddha image and either bow or curtsy to the picture of the King and Queen.


They then walk on their knees (to be respectful and not have their heads higher than their elders) over to the teachers.


Once in front of the teachers they bow and present the flowers.


Here are the flowers that were presented to us today! Every student presented something to the teachers. SOOO cute!

Most Americans know of June 14th as flag day ... I know that flag day 2011 will be one that I will remember for a long time. I awoke as if it was any other day of teaching in Thailand, planning to teach but expecting much more. As I was preparing for school (aka going on facebook now that I have internet in my house) my phone started to ring and I saw that it was my father calling ... this cannot be good. As I tentatively answered the phone, trying to sound optimistic as usual I had a sick feeling I was not going to like the news on the other end. Through short breaths he managed to tell me that him and my mother were at the vet and were just told that they need to put Rocky down. My only reaction was "NO." No, this isn't fair! No, I am too far away! No, John and Megan aren't there either. No, we love him too much. No, I want more time with him. Through immediate sobs I managed to tell Rocky that I love him and will miss him as my dad held the phone to his ear, told my dad I would be 'okay', and hung up. I somehow continued to gather my belongings for school and begin to eat breakfast. On most mornings Michelle and I sit at the table chatting until my ride shows up anytime within a 30 minute window. Today Earm and Sumet came early! So as I was shoving the last bite of oatmeal into my mouth while simultaneously wiping the tears from my face I ran out to the car, only to realize they were early because we needed to go lamp shopping.

We arrive at school around the normal time and I head to my classroom to continue pulling myself together and prepare for a full day of 4 classes to teach. Little to my knowledge at this point, today is voting for the student representative board. I realize about 10 minutes into what is supposed to be my first class that all the students are headed to the covered pavilion to take part in democracy's finest hour(s). Voting. In true Thai fashion this involves standing line and taking one piece of paper to the next person to get the next piece of paper to cast your vote to then place in the guarded box. It was all very official and I was able to spend the whole morning, not suffering through teaching the sound the letter "Bb" makes but harassing and giggling with my favorite students. Somehow the unpredictability of Thailand manages to come through in the most surprising of ways. Now I will guide you through the process of voting in a Thai elementary school.

First, let's look at who is running . . .


Then wait in line to get a small piece of paper from this person . . .


And take that piece of paper to this person and sign your name on the appropriate class list


That person will give you a ballot that looks like this


You then take that ballot to this designated area to mark your choice


After you have made your decision you can place your ballot in the official ballot holding box being watched by security


Let's not forget how important security is during an election ... at any level!




But don't let voting get you stressed . . .


IT'S FUN!

It became clear to me sometime last week how rice is able to be Thailand's number 1 export. I live in the middle of all the rice fields but have yet to see them in all of their glory. Arriving during the tail end of the wet season, I spent the majority of my time here so far in the cool season and then briefly the hot season. After experiencing some of the biggest thunderstorms of my life including torrential downpours for the likes of an hour I finally saw the rice fields lush and green. I decided to take my favorite bike ride to Phon Tan and snap some pictures of the fields during sunset and here is what I came back with . . .